Valerie Boyd facts for kids

Valerie Boyd (December 11, 1963 – February 12, 2022) was an American writer and teacher. She was famous for writing a book about the life of Zora Neale Hurston. This book was called Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston.

Valerie Boyd also taught at the University of Georgia. She was a professor at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. There, she taught students how to write true stories and articles about arts and literature.

Valerie Boyd's Early Life

Valerie Boyd was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 11, 1963. Her father owned a gas station. Her mother managed their home.

Valerie went to Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1985. This is a four-year college degree. Later, she continued her studies at Goucher College. She earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1999. This is a higher degree in creative writing.

Valerie Boyd's Career

Valerie Boyd had an exciting career as a journalist and a teacher. She loved telling stories and sharing knowledge.

Her Work in Journalism

Valerie Boyd started her career in 1985. She worked at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper. She began as a copy editor, checking stories for mistakes. Later, she became a reporter, writing news stories. She also reviewed books and edited articles.

In 1990, Valerie Boyd started her own magazine called EightRock. This magazine focused on black arts and culture. Two years later, she helped create HealthQuest. This was the first national magazine about African-American health. She was its main editor.

Valerie Boyd also wrote for many other well-known magazines and newspapers. These included Ms., Paste, Essence, and The Washington Post. She eventually became the Arts Editor for the Journal-Constitution. She held this important job until 2004.

Writing Wrapped in Rainbows

In 2003, Valerie Boyd published her famous book, Wrapped in Rainbows. This book was a biography of the author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston. A biography tells the true story of someone's life. This was the first new biography of Hurston in 25 years.

Valerie felt a special connection to Zora Neale Hurston. She first read Hurston's novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, in college. She felt called to write Wrapped in Rainbows. Another writer, Robert Hemenway, suggested that a black woman should write the next biography of Hurston. Valerie took on this challenge.

Many people praised Wrapped in Rainbows. The Washington Post called it "the best Hurston biography for many years." Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker also said it would be "the standard for years to come."

Her Work in Teaching

After leaving the newspaper in 2004, Valerie Boyd started teaching. In 2007, she became a special writer-in-residence at the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. This is a special teaching position.

Valerie also helped start the Alice Walker Literary Society in 1997. This group celebrates the work of author Alice Walker. She was also on the board of the National Book Critics Circle. This group gives awards for books.

Valerie Boyd traveled across the United States. She gave speeches about Zora Neale Hurston's life and writings. She did this as part of the Big Read program. This program encourages people to read for fun.

Valerie Boyd's Later Life

In 2021, Valerie Boyd became an editor-at-large for the University of Georgia Press. This meant she helped decide which books the university would publish.

Her book, Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker, was published after her death. It came out in the spring of 2022.

Valerie Boyd passed away on February 12, 2022. She was 58 years old. She died in an Atlanta hospital from pancreatic cancer.

Awards and Honors

Valerie Boyd received many awards for her book Wrapped in Rainbows.

• She won the Georgia Author of the Year Award for nonfiction.
• The American Library Association named it a Notable Book.
• The Georgia Center for the Book said it was one of the "25 Books That All Georgians Should Read."
• The Southern Book Critics Circle gave it the 2003 Southern Book Award for best nonfiction.

In 2021, Valerie Boyd was honored by being added to the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame.